Saturday morning March 26

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lipsand our mouth will proclaim your praise.Let your ways be known upon earth,your saving power among the nations.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,to you be praise and glory forever.As a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefyour only Son was lifted upthat he might draw the whole world to himself.May we walk this day in the way of the crossand always be ready to share its weight,declaring your love for all the world.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

Here then I doubt no more,But in his pleasure rest,Whose wisdom, love, and truth and powerEngage to make me blest.

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Almighty God,patient and of great goodness:I confess to you,I confess with my whole heartmy neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;the hurts I have done to others,and the good I have left undone.O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;and raise me to newness of life;through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the God of love and powerforgive us and free us from our sins,heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 142

Refrain:Get me out of this prison so I can give thanks to your name.

I cry out loud for help from the Lord. I beg out loud for mercy from the Lord.I pour out my concerns before God; I announce my distress to him.When my spirit is weak inside me, you still know my way. But they’ve hidden a trap for me in the path I’m taking.Look right beside me: See? No one pays attention to me.There’s no escape for me. No one cares about my life.

I cry to you, Lord, for help. “You are my refuge,” I say. “You are all I have in the land of the living.”Pay close attention to my shouting, because I’ve been brought down so low!Deliver me from my oppressors because they’re stronger than me.Get me out of this prison so I can give thanks to your name.Then the righteous will gather all around me because of your good deeds to me.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Get me out of this prison so I can give thanks to your name.

Psalm prayer

God of compassion,you regard the forsakenand give hope to the crushed in spirit;hear those who cry to you in distressand bring your ransomed people to sing your glorious praise,now and forever.

Old Testament readingHosea 6:1-6

“Come, let’s return to the Lord; for it is he who has injured us and will heal us; he has struck us down, but he will bind us up.After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, so that we may live before him.Let’s know, let’s press on to know the Lord; whose appearing is as certain as the dawn; who will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that give drink to the earth.”

Ephraim, what will I do with you? Judah, what will I do with you? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that vanishes quickly. Therefore, I have attacked them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth like a light. I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God instead of entirely burned offerings.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingJohn 2:18-22

Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? What miraculous sign will you show us?”

Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple and in three days I’ll raise it up.”

The Jewish leaders replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” But the temple Jesus was talking about was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered what he had said, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain: Destroy this temple and, in three days, I will raise it up, says the Lord;this he said of the temple that was his body.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: Destroy this temple and, in three days, I will raise it up, says the Lord;this he said of the temple that was his body.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers are offeredfor the day and its tasksfor the world and its needsfor the Church and her life

Response

Loving God, we look to you.Receive our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Grant, Lord,that we who are baptized into the death of your Son our Savior Jesus Christmay continually put to death our evil desires and be buried with him; and that through the grave and gate of deathwe may pass to our joyful resurrection;through his merits, who died and was buried and rose again for us,your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Standing at the foot of the cross,as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who bore our sins on the cross,set us free to serve him with joy.Amen.